Success at Semakau: Giant clams and more!

A perfect evening yesterday, exploring a stretch of Semakau shore facing Pulau Bukom.
Kok Sheng brought the team here previously, but I missed going with the team at that time, so it's my first trip to this shore.

Snakes in a fish feeding frenzy

As the tide turned and I started heading back to the high shore, I heard a splash.
Looking around, I saw a snake with a fish in its jaws!

Guitar shark caught off Changi

A 2.75m-long, 100-kg guitar shark was cut up and sold to Tekong Seafood Restaurant in Changi Village for $600.Mr Tan Seck Suah said he caught the shark in the waters near Changi Naval Base.

AVA's response:

Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said that guitarfish is currently not listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora so there’s no law against catching or selling it.

Fortunately, our scientists provide more information and advice that hopefully helps avoid an unhappy end to special fishes found on our shores.

Construction on Pasir Ris, Nov 09-May 10

Construction of a new headland and topping up of sand and stone is planned for the shores of Pasir Ris.

Here's some recent blog posts about the marinelife seen during trips to Pasir Ris.

Unexpectedly high at Changi

We were looking forward to a good low tide and headed out for our favourite shore at Changi.
But even after slacking off for a while to wait for the rain to ease up, the tide was still NOT low when we got to the shore!

How do girl fiddler crabs defend their territory?

Boy fiddler crabs have one enlarged pincer that can be bigger than their body. This humungous pincer is so large they cannot feed with it.

Boy fiddler crabs have one tiny pincer to feed with. Girl fiddler crabs, however, have two tiny pincers so they can feed twice as fast.

But how do girl fiddler crabs then defend their territory from other thuggish fiddlers? It appears they get their big pincered boyfriends to help. In exchange for something all boys want. Sigh.

Soil sampling very close to Cyrene Reef, 9-24 Nov 09

Soil sampling is to take place very close to Cyrene Reefs.
The sampling activity will also include areas close to Pulau Bukom, as well as up the East Jurong Channel.

Click on image to enlarge.

The purpose of the sampling is not indicated. Among the possible reasons why soil sampling is being undertaken include preparations for any of these activities: pipelines, dredging, construction projects, cable routing, environmental and hydrographic surveys.

More about Cyrene Reef and the marvellous marine life found there.

First stars on Sentosa

Yesterday, a small team checked out the Sentosa shores that are impacted by many developments nearby. It was not a very low tide and a short window too. Still, we had a quick look around.
Finally, I saw the Common sea stars (Archaster typicus) there! Thanks to Kok Sheng who pointed them out. He had seen them before on earlier trips, but I never managed to find them.

Boom in the Bryopsis Bloom

When life gives you Bryopsis, you get a Bug Backache . . . a Bug-ache?
The thick tangle of Hairy green seaweed was teeming with teeny weeny critters!

Pearls of snail: breakthrough in snail pearl culturing

I don't really understand the attraction of a glossy bit that comes out of a slimy mollusc. But pearls are a lucrative market. Among the rarest are pearls that come from conch snails.
Conch pearls are formed by concentric layers of fibrous crystals, and this layering often produces the desired flame structure, which is characteristic of conch pearls. The pearls have a porcelain finish and luster. They come in white, red, pink, orange, yellow and brown. Queen conch pearls are measured in carats like traditional gemstones. Photo by FAU's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.

For the first time, scientists have developed a method to culture pearls from the queen conch (Strombus gigas) WITHOUT having to kill the snail. This is critical because commercial fishing has depleted the once-abundant wild populations of queen conch, which is now considered threatened.

New record for Singapore! A sea cucumber at Changi

The strange sea cucumber with polka dots that we have been seeing at Changi turns out to be a new record for Singapore!

Thanks to Siyang and Lionel for working on this mystery! Their paper (PDF) on this discovery is now online at Nature in Singapore on the Raffles Museum Biodiversity Research website.

Construction of sea wall at Pulau Ubin, Nov 09 - Jan 10

A sea wall is being constructed at on the northern shore of Pulau Ubin.

Soil investigation off Tanah Merah, Nov-Dec 09

Just off the 'Coral gardens at Tanah Merah' as described by Kok Sheng on his blog, which includes this photo below.
Works to investigate the soil there will involve a jack up platform. Here's more blog posts about the marine life seen in the area.

Petrochemical complex opposite Pulau Hantu nears completion

An important part of Shell's new US$3 billion petrochemical cracker complex is ready and operational, ahead of the complex's completion in the first quarter of next year.

This massive petrochemical complex is built on reclaimed land which buried the living reefs of Terumbu Bayan. It lies just opposite Pulau Hantu, a wild living reef that is a popular local dive spot.

Latest biodiversity happenings on our shores on the NParks e-newsletter

Some interesting articles about our marine and terrestrial biodiversity is up on NParks' e-newsletter section!
Called 'My Green Space' there are features on the coral nursery at Pulau Semakau, shorebirds and otters at Buloh and mammals and birds at Pulau Ubin. Here's some excepts.

Trashing the trash at Pulau Semakau

The Navy comes to the rescue! 96 strong men of the Singapore Navy’s Naval Diving Unit came on 30 Oct to clear the horrendous trash build up on the remote shores of Pulau Semakau.
Their Project Eco-Frog was a great success!